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David Howson to replace Alastair Mills as Six Degrees CEO

Paul Withers
January 25, 2017

Mills, who founded the hosting and managed service provider in 2011, will become chairman

Six Degrees Group (6D has appointed David Howson as CEO, with founder and current chief Alastair Mills becoming chairman.

Howson has 25 years of industry experience and most recently spent six years at Zayo where he was a member of the executive team that grew the company from annual profits tenfold to $800 million. He has spent the last 16 years in Colorado and will be relocating with his family.

Mills (pictured) is stepping down as CEO to spend more time with his wife and young children, as well as focusing more on his charitable endeavours, including supporting WeSeeHope, for whom he is a longstanding ambassador.

Hosting and managed service provider 6DG was founded by Mills in 2011 and has since grown to more than £100m in annual revenues with over 500 staff.

To date, it has completed 19 acquisitions and was sold to global private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners in 2015.

Stepping back

“Now is the perfect time for me to step back from the front line and for a new CEO to lead the next chapter of our growth story,” said Mills. “David is well known to both the management team and Charlesbank, and his track record in our sector speaks for itself.

“Whilst I’m looking forward to devoting more time to several charitable interests and more importantly to my long-suffering family, my journey with Six Degrees isn’t finished and I’m delighted to be taking up the role of Chairman, supporting the company’s ongoing success.”

Howson added: “I have followed the company’s fortunes for some time and recognised their significant growth and shareholder returns in its short but impressive history. The team have built meaningful scale and a compelling portfolio proposition, giving me fantastic foundations to build on.

“I’m looking forward to moving back to the UK and helping Six Degrees establish itself as the market leader for mission-critical technology managed services and to drive growth both organically and through strategic acquisitions.”

 

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